Jaya blames central PSUs for power crisis in Tamil Nadu

Updated: Tuesday, November 26, 2013, 14:34 [IST]

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Chennai, Nov 26: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa blamed central PSUs for the "deteriorating" power situation in the state and sought the Prime Minister's intervention to ensure maximum electricity supply. She said central PSUs were responsible for the shortfall of over 2,500 MW, resulting in subsequent load-shedding in the state.

In a letter to Singh detailing the load shedding, Jayalalithaa said this could be directly attributed to central PSUs. The Chief Minster said the power situation deteriorated rapidly after she promised in the state assembly last month to make the state power surplus by 2014.

"A close analysis reveals that this is primarily due to the shortfall in generation by central generating stations, including our joint venture with NTPC, and by the new thermal power projects under trial production and which are yet to be handed over by BHEL to Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation Limited (TANGEDCO)," she said in her letter on November 25, which was released today.

She said it was "a very strange coincidence" that while all 12 thermal units of TANGEDCO were generating to full capacity, the central stations and the joint venture unit were all "performing dismally", resulting in widespread load-shedding again in the state, which was free from such shortages till the first fortnight of November.

She said the people of the state find it difficult to believe that the central generating stations including the joint venture unit as well as the units under trial production executed by BHEL could all perform so poorly at the same time. Jayalalithaa urged the Prime Minister to direct the Ministry of Power and the Ministry of Coal to take immediate effective steps to ensure that these power plants under the control of Central government maximise their generation and restore the supply of power to Tamil Nadu.

"Continued poor performance by the Central PSUs causing shortfall in power supply would only lead the people of Tamil Nadu to come to the conclusion that there is a concerted conspiracy to keep the state in the dark," she said.